SC - Roman Cheesecake (Cato) from Tastes of Ancient Rome

[rudin@okway.okstate.edu]

> Date: Fri, 27 Feb 1998 11:21:54 -0800
> From: david friedman <ddfr at best.com>
> Subject: SC - Payne Puff
> 
> At 10:11 AM +0000 2/27/98, CHRISTINA van Tets wrote:
> >5.  Pastry:  I did post this some months ago, but it seems that it is
> >needed again.  Payne puff is mentioned (line 497) in John Russell's
> >Book of Nurture (Harl. MS 4011), c. 1452, given in F. J. Furnivall's
> >Early English Meals and Manners, Early English Text Society, London,
> >1868.  His footnote states that the last recipe in the Forme of Cury
> >is for payn puff.  His quote, unfortunately, does not appear to be
> >complete, or to give adequate directions for the pastry.  What he
> >does provide is this:
> >        Payn puff, Forme of Cury, # 196
> >
> >        Eodem modo fait payn puff.  but make it more tendre 6e past,
> >and loke 6e past be rounde of 6e payn puff as a coffyn & as a pye.
> >
> >Perhaps someone else can help further?
> 
> _A Proper Newe Booke of Cokerye_ has a recipe for Panne Puffe (p. 27); I
> don't know if it is the same thing or not.
> 
> Take the stuffe of Stock frytters and for hys paest take a quantitie of ale
> and a lytle yest and Suger, Mace and Saffron, than heate it on a
> chavyndysche and ut it to youre floure with the yolcke of a rawe agge, and
> so after this maner make up your paest.

Interesting how slight textual variatons can make a big difference. The
version of FoC in Curye On Inglysch contains the following:

"203. The pety peruaunt...

<I'll omit the filling ingredients for a fairly typical medieval custard
tart with fruit and marrow>

...and loke (th)at (th)ou mak (th)y past with (y)olks of ayren 7 (th)at
no water come (th)erto; and fourme (th)y coffin and make vp (th)y past."

Followed by # 204:

"Eodem modo flat payn puff, but make it more tendre 6e past,
and loke 6e past be rounde of 6e payn puff as a coffyn & as a pye."

Either meaning, 'in the same way flat payn puff', etc., or 'in the same
way make payn puf', assuming "flat" to be an error, and that "fait" was
intended.

Anyway, it's not really clear, for certain, whether any other shortening
is included. All other things being equal, the only way I can think of
to make the pastry more tender, without adding shortening or sugar
(neither of which is mentioned for the pastry) is to add more egg yolks
(i.e. more liquid and more egg yolk shortening), making the dough
softer, or else to knead it less, or to knead it to the point where the
gluten is fully developed and then begins to break down. That's quite a
bit of kneading...maybe Bear could tell us more about that?

Adamantius
troy at asan.com
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